The crimson crest of the setting suns began to set in, efficiently as the group of three stood around their meditative comrade. The winds now began to dive under with the waves of sand ceasing. The air, slowly becoming still alongside the plants it had rushed into prior. Around the four, the air was still stiff though gradually drawing thin as their tensions eased.
“Ugh, finally. How can anyone live on a world with multiple stars?” Mifune grumbled.
“Quite easily. Multiple stars at approximate distance from themselves and planets can actually-”
“Can it Enzo,” Mifune growled.
“How much longer is Silas going to be in there? I know time is a heck of a ton faster in there and it’s been hours out here.”
“It’s possible that he’s combing more than just this oasis in there. The Pesquisa lets one wander far from their physical bodies, at least a hundred kilometers.”
“Still, how long does it take a person to do this crap-”
“It takes what it takes. If you have a problem with that then, well, I don’t know,” Christa barked.
“Right right, all good.” Mifune sighed.
Quickly, ever so quickly, the suns dropped more leaving only a hue of their color until, darkness began to take place. Stars from far away now became visible as the glow of the warming hearts swiftly died out. Little by little, it quickly became far far darker until truly, minutes gone by, the glowing suns were no more.
Enzo quickly looked around, “Well, sunset. It should be easier to get back now. The winds have also died down.”
“Can we move Silas as he is now?” Christa questioned.
“We should be able to. Astral Projection is different from Spirit Walking.”
“Alright then, thank you Enzo. Mifune, grab Silas.”
“Wha-why!?”
“Because I said so. You’re the tough guy, so get to it.”
“Ugh, fiiiiiine!”
“Wait wait, hold on, everybody shut up for a second,” Enzo mumbled.
“Why, what is it?”
“SHH!!”
Silence.
Mifune looked to Christa as she looked to him, both turning glances back towards Enzo who had crouched down to the ground with a hand on the ground, “I”m not quite as good at this as Silver, but I could swear I just felt a shift.”
All at once sand began to rupture around the three, pulling away from them. A mighty deeply human roar could be heard on the horizon, one that seemed declarative. Enzo looked up in shock as the others stumbled around.
“Don’t need to feel for that shift!” Christa spat.
The sand right at the front of the group split, an arm launching out. Enzo’s eyes widened as another breached, then another and another. Dozens had begun to rip themselves free from the sand, all wrapped in bandages and very much decayed. No blood, no exposed color, just dried skin. Slowly the arms swung forward and plunged their hands into the sand, pushing away. Next the sands sunk away further as entire bodies came out.
Many wrapped in decayed cloth, many with exposed faces. The faces were caked in old rotted flesh, hardly any color to it as they began to moan, the darkness that was their eye sockets sinking in. Drool, old drool, leaked from their rotted out teeth. Their moans filled the night air as slowly more and more of them began to pull themselves out.
“Mummies!” Mifune spat.
“No shit,” Christa grumbled looking around.
Bandages drooped from their bodies, their exposed decayed fingers visible, their sunk in faces with large portions of simple dried flesh missing. Slowly they began to march once all the way out, their arms forward with shuffling feet towards the trio, a trio that stood before Silas defensively now.
“Shit, shit!” Christa spat, “That is so gross!”
“Well oh wise leader, what now?!” Mifune spat towards Enzo.
“I uh, I uh, I- I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting all this!”
Dozens upon dozens moved towards the group, their moans filling their minds with every step. Mifune leaned forward, a grin forming, “No undead mothers are going to get me! I’ll show you how we’ll deal with this, we’re going to tear them apart. Let’s go, hiyah!”
Mifune lunged forward towards the group of mummies. Enzo’s head turned, his arm and hand extending, “Mifune, wait!”
“Wait nothing, bags of bone can’t keep me down!” Mifune laughed.
Quickly from a sheathe on his back he pulled a sword, “Ya-hoooo!”
With a strong leap he shot up above the moaning mummies and flew straight down, “Eat steel!”
His blade flew through one vertically, then swung wide in an arc slash cutting through the torsos of the closest ones around. Forward he stepped with another howl, swinging away right into the torsos of the mummies hacking them to pieces. Their limbs and torsos split in half, collapsing to the sand as they continued to moan. Mifune didn’t stop, he didn’t look, he just kept on moving with swats through them all.
“Mifune!” Enzo began, his arm lowering with the turn of his head as Christa stepped forward.
“Sorry Enzo, protect Silas. I want in on this,” she grumbled taking charge herself.
Quickly she dove in, her hands slamming into the heads of some. With a quick drop forward she slammed them down into the sands, blades sliding from her sleeves into both hands as she tossed off into the air. Their heads flew straight off with twin swings, just as Christa began her somersault ahead. One by one she went for the necks and limbs, slashing wild and punching the rest sending holes through them or smashing their skulls to dust.
The two, Enzo and Christa, charged straight into the horde all as Enzo shouted on, “You guys don’t understand, stop!”
“Eh understand this!” Mifune spat still cutting down multiple at a time.
Bodies fell over in pieces, the moaning mummies wiggling. Slowly, so very slowly, the nightmare of their curse came to be. Heads slowly began to move towards the torsos, the legs rolling and being swept towards their bodies, arms hovering in the air and launching back. Bit by bit, all of the mummies were pulling themselves back together, groaning as they did so. Mifune and Christa continued to attack forward, not bothering to look back at what was happening behind them as those they had cut down were now rising again.
“Christa, Mifune!” Enzo yelled, stumbling back as several mummies approached him as well.
Mifune turned his head just enough, his eyes bugging out, “Holy shit, Christa!” he barked.
Christa too turned around, her expression filling with dread, “Oh no-”
Flipping around the two went on the defensive as the mummies all closed in on them, their weapons flying all around as they stood back to back. Mifune swung wide with his weapon and Christa swung violently with hers. Enzo flipped backwards, dodging as two mummies swung at him, skidding to a stop beside Silas.
“Dammit, this isn’t going to work! There’s, there’s no way. Even if they’re weak to magic, Silas is the only one who can-”
“OOOOUWAAAAHAAAAAAAA!” came the roar from earlier, this time sounding as if it were right next to the group.
The mummies all at once stopped, the trio looking around temporarily at the mummies as they ceased up. Quickly they looked out to the direction of the roar. There on the dunes stood another with the moon placed center behind. Wrapped in bandages and a blue tunic coated with gold and gems, eyes visible with whites and a glowing red. Black hair jagged, looking as if it were in patches.
“That must be Onaka,” Enzo growled.
“OooooOOOOooOOOOOoooOOOooooOOOOoooo, YoU wHo WoUlD iNtRuDe On My LaNd, BEGONE!! THiS iS yOuR fIrSt AnD lAsT wArNiNg!”
All at once a whirl of wind and sand kicked up around the individual, a storm from nowhere turning into a sand tornado. It spun and twirled, throwing sand and wind everywhere. The sands quickly slammed into the mummies and the trio, all vision blocked.
“I-I can’t see!” Mifune yelled out through the roar of the wind and sand.
Just as he had spoke, silence came as the sand flew by and flopped upon the ground. The mummies gone. All was still, all as it was just before without a single trace of anything.446Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiso2rN2Mzc
